Exercise 6 – Straight and Level Flight

While flying this exercise, be sure to review the various attitudes and movements from last lesson. Also review the safety items of a proper lookout and transfer of control. By this lesson it is a good idea to have a hand written basic “script” of communication for your student. Depending on the student’s ability last lesson and their ability to taxi, this may be a time to introduce the take-off with assistance.

Straight Flight

  • Establish straight and level flight on a heading
  • Show the cruise attitude and relate it to the last lesson.
  • Point out how to set cruise power, the power setting, and the normal airspeed in cruise
  • Demonstrate that the wings are level and you are flying a heading.
  • Review control of yaw

Student Practice

  • Align the aircraft over a road
  • If a crosswind exists, allow the aircraft to drift to demonstrate and show how to correct it.
  • Turn around and allow the student to practice in the opposite direction.
  • This is tracking over the ground

Student Practice

Level Flight

  • Establish straight and level flight
  • Demonstrate how to maintain level flight and alleviate control pressure using trim
    • Trim is to relieve pressure, not fly the plane.
    • Make sure your student does not fly using trim
    • Set the attitude, trim off the pressure, assess what the airplane is doing, re-set the attitude, re-trim

Student Practice

  • Slightly reduce power and maintain level flight at new cruise attitude.
  • Control Yaw
  • Return aircraft to cruise and allow

Student Practice

  • From cruise repeat above steps this time increasing power.

Compass

  • Reset heading indicator every 15 minutes if required in unaccelerated flight
  • On east west headings show compass errors by accelerating and decelerating
  • Starting on a heading of North, do a 30 degree angle of bank turn to south and point out compass errors.
  • Have the student actively participate either by flying, keeping a lookout or something else 

All of this information on pilot training and flight training in Canada is also available at www.flighttrainers.ca.